Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Motco

Motco cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,184 shares of the company’s stock after selling 439 shares during the period. Motco’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,809,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $83,835,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $164.95 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.